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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. root — of a word
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cue — a hint
  21. root — the cause
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cue — for pool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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