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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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Word bank
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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: staff · root · fork · mine · perch · shower · object · last

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. root — the cause
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — final
  5. object — an aim
  6. shower — rain
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. staff — a stick
  12. perch — the fish
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. staff — employees
  18. root — of a plant
  19. last — to go on
  20. shower — to wash
  21. staff — employees
  22. last — finally
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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