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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bank — for money
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cap — a lid
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. file — a tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a document

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