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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: wind · rash · root · plane · fork · mine · march · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — hasty
  8. root — the cause
  9. rash — a series
  10. root — of a word
  11. wind — moving air
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. march — music
  20. present — there
  21. march — the month
  22. root — of a plant
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. mine — an explosive

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