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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. row — a line
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fork — in a road
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. sharp — clever
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. root — of a plant
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. row — to paddle
  14. root — the cause
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. root — of a word
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rush — hurry
  19. roll — a list
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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