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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. net — after costs
  11. kid — child
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. object — an aim
  15. mark — a grade
  16. kid — to tease
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. net — for catching
  19. file — a document
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. mark — a trace
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fork — in a road
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com