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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 · fork · wind · net · content · wake · swing · ground

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — the cause
  4. net — in sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — of a word
  9. wind — moving air
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — a trail
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. net — for catching
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — in a road
  22. net — after costs
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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