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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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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. craft — boats
  13. branch — a division
  14. ground — a position
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — in a road
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. craft — a skill

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