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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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Word bank
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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cap — a lid
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — music
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a line of people
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fork — in a road
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. root — of a word
  24. racket — for tennis

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