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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. date — the fruit
  12. root — of a plant
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. last — to go on
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. clip — for paper
  17. can — a tin
  18. last — final
  19. can — to be able to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — in a road
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — a video
  24. can — a tin

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