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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. snap — to click
  3. root — of a plant
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. land — to come down
  16. key — in music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. root — of a word
  19. chest — a box
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — of your body

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