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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: fall · cue · root · ground · clip · spell · toast · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spell — letters
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ground — the earth
  6. root — the cause
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fork — in a road
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cue — a signal
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. cue — a hint
  21. ground — a position
  22. root — of a word
  23. fall — to drop
  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