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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  3. current — of water
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fork — in a road
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. root — of a word
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. chair — a leader
  20. current — happening now
  21. root — the cause
  22. current — electric
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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