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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.

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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mine — for digging
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. track — a song
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rest — what's left
  10. root — of a word
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rest — a break
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. root — the cause
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. key — in music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. track — a path
  23. bark — to shout
  24. track — to keep track

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