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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ground — a position
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. charge — electricity
  12. root — the cause
  13. hand — help
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. charge — a price
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stock — goods
  20. charge — in control
  21. key — in music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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