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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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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: game · fork · row · straw · hand · file · squash · root

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. game — a match
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. root — the cause
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — help
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — of a word
  13. squash — to crush
  14. hand — in cards
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. root — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — the sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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