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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — final
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. root — of a plant
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — to paddle
  10. last — finally
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — a publisher
  13. key — the most important part
  14. root — of a word
  15. rule — government
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. press — to push
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. root — the cause
  22. press — newspapers
  23. key — in music
  24. rule — a law

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