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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 120 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 · plane · bark · present · fork · patient · cold · pitch

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — the time now
  3. fork — in a road
  4. root — of a word
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. root — of a plant
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. root — the cause
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. plane — a tool
  17. present — there
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — an illness
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — a gift
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bark — of a tree

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