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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — a position
  5. track — a path
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. root — of a word
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — a box
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. root — of a plant
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. root — the cause
  23. prune — to trim
  24. dip — to sink

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