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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 124 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. scale — in music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. root — of a plant
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. row — a line
  12. root — the cause
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — for digging
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. root — of a word
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — for a lock
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. scale — for weighing

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