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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. hand — help
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ground — the earth
  4. key — for a lock
  5. root — of a word
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. key — the most important part
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. sharp — clever
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — in cards
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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