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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. prune — to trim
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. ground — crushed
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — in a road
  8. root — of a word
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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