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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 120 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. band — a music group
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. root — the cause
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a dance
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — to wash
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fork — in a road
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. root — of a word
  17. shower — rain
  18. file — a document
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. root — of a plant
  21. file — a tool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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