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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. root — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — from a university
  7. root — the cause
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. ball — a dance
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wax — to grow
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. land — to come down
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. saw — the tool
  17. root — of a word
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. branch — a division
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a great time

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