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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — the amount
  6. root — the cause
  7. file — a document
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. root — of a plant
  11. file — a tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a line of people
  14. root — of a word
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — happy
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bulb — for light
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — to rip

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