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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. hand — in cards
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. root — of a word
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. hand — help
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — a match
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. root — the cause

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