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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. key — in music
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — the cause
  10. key — for a lock
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fork — in a road
  19. root — of a word
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — the most important part
  22. present — a gift
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. root — of a plant

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