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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: root · net · trunk · fork · shower · swing · ground · straw

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. net — for catching
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ground — a position
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. root — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — the earth
  17. root — the cause
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. shower — rain
  20. net — in sport
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — crushed
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. shower — to wash

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