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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 · fork · last · dip · prune · bowl · tear · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a word
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. last — finally
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — the cause
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — to go on
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. last — final
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. root — of a plant

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