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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · spring · straw · current · racket · fork · file · pitcher

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. root — of a word
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. file — a document
  5. current — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. current — electric
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. current — happening now
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. file — a line of people
  24. racket — for tennis

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