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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 · deal · leaves · cold · jam · kick · fall · root

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cold — not warm
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. root — the cause
  8. fall — the season
  9. root — of a word
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. fork — in a road
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kick — in football
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. deal — to handle

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