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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: fork · mug · tear · root · rule · capital · snap · saw

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mug — a face
  6. root — of a plant
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. root — of a word
  9. rule — government
  10. tear — to rip
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. root — the cause
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fork — in a road
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rule — a law
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to click

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