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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. spell — letters
  3. board — to get on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. root — the cause
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — in a road
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — magic
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. board — a committee
  20. root — of a plant
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. root — of a word
  24. stem — to come from

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