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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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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. land — ground
  7. root — of a word
  8. can — a tin
  9. object — an aim
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. object — a thing
  16. snap — to click
  17. root — the cause
  18. can — a tin
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. land — to come down
  23. object — to protest
  24. land — a country

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