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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. club — for golf
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — a coil
  7. key — for a lock
  8. club — for dancing
  9. land — ground
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. key — the most important part
  14. file — a tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — a group
  18. key — in music
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. calf — a young animal

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