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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. object — to protest
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. object — an aim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rest — a break
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wake — a trail
  13. object — a thing
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. squash — the sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fork — in a road
  24. root — of a plant

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