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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. root — of a word
  3. spell — letters
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — magic
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stock — shares
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bore — to tire
  15. root — the cause
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — a garden tool

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