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

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. key — for a lock
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. key — the most important part
  6. rule — government
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. root — the cause
  9. bat — the animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. key — in music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chest — a box
  21. rule — a law
  22. chest — of your body
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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