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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: root · face · prune · lie · fork · pop · snap · shower

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. shower — to wash
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pop — music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. face — to confront
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. fork — in a road
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. shower — rain
  14. root — of a plant
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pop — to visit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. prune — to trim
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. lie — to recline
  24. face — to point toward

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