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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. root — of a plant
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spring — the season
  8. land — ground
  9. content — happy
  10. spring — of water
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. land — a country
  16. content — the amount
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. swing — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — a coil

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