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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 · file · kick · wound · fork · season · perch · club

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — of a plant
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. root — of a word
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. root — the cause
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — in a road
  21. club — a group
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — of the year

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