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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. track — a song
  4. root — the cause
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. track — a path
  10. pop — soda
  11. root — of a word
  12. pop — music
  13. row — a line
  14. mine — for digging
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pop — to visit
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fork — a garden tool

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