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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. root — of a plant
  3. key — the most important part
  4. root — of a word
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. scale — size or range
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — a subject
  10. mug — a face
  11. scale — in music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. capital — money
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. root — the cause
  21. key — for a lock
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — a cup
  24. key — in music

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