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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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Word bank
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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — of a plant
  5. present — there
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fork — in a road
  19. root — the cause
  20. degree — from a university
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. root — of a word
  23. present — the time now
  24. perch — for a bird

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