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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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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: land · kid · root · content · fork · scale · pitcher · drill

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. drill — the tool
  4. land — a country
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — in a road
  7. root — the cause
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. content — the amount
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — ground
  15. kid — child
  16. content — happy
  17. kid — to tease
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — size or range
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — in music

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