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

Word bank: ground · kid · pop · fork · cue · deal · root · drill

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. drill — army training
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. cue — for pool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. root — of a plant
  12. kid — to tease
  13. drill — a practice
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. ground — a position
  16. root — the cause
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kid — child
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. root — of a word
  24. fork — in a road

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