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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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468
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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — to tease
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kid — child
  6. present — there
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — the cause
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. root — of a word
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — the time now
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — the fruit

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