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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. key — the most important part
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — the season
  8. fine — high quality
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — of water
  14. file — a document
  15. land — ground
  16. fine — all right
  17. root — of a plant
  18. land — to come down
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — to rip
  21. root — of a word
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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