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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: row · capital · kid · root · bulb · bat · fork · bore

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bore — to drill
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bore — to tire
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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