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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. cold — an illness
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rash — hasty
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. root — of a word
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — for paper
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chip — to eat
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rash — a series
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. root — the cause

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