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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: kid · prune · ground · fork · tear · root · bear · foot

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. kid — child
  11. foot — a measure
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — a position
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. root — of a word
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bear — the animal

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