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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · tear · root · dip · bowl · cell · net · spring

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. net — in sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spring — a coil
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — the season
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spring — of water
  23. root — of a word
  24. fork — to eat with

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