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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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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: racket · land · calf · squash · fork · stand · root · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. squash — to crush
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. land — ground
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. root — of a word
  16. stand — to bear
  17. land — to come down
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fork — in a road
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. land — a country

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