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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. craft — boats
  9. chest — a box
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — child
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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