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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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 — to eat with
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. root — of a word
  4. pit — a hole
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pit — in a race
  7. ground — a position
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. drill — a practice
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. ground — crushed
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fork — in a road
  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