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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. key — in music
  3. game — a match
  4. root — of a word
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. drill — a practice
  8. key — the most important part
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. prune — to trim
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. drill — army training
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. prune — to trim
  18. key — for a lock
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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