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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 120 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: clip · fork · root · bulb · row · pound · kid · race

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — a weight
  9. fork — in a road
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bulb — for light
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. race — a contest
  15. root — the cause
  16. race — humankind
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. row — a line
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — child
  24. pound — for dogs

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