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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: firm · pitch · cold · bore · root · fork · land · hide

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. firm — a company
  2. root — of a plant
  3. land — to come down
  4. root — the cause
  5. firm — decided
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — ground
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bore — to drill
  16. root — of a word
  17. cold — an illness
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. firm — steady
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. pitch — completely
  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