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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — the cause
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. court — of law
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. root — of a word
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — child
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — a practice
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — army training
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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