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

Word bank: root · perch · land · hide · trunk · tear · fork · court

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — of law
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. root — of a word
  19. court — of a king
  20. root — of a plant
  21. perch — the fish
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — for sport

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