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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: date · tear · fork · deal · wake · root · hand · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. date — the fruit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. deal — to handle
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. craft — a skill
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. root — of a word
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wake — a trail
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. hand — help

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