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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pound — a weight
  6. key — in music
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. ground — a position
  9. key — for a lock
  10. squash — to crush
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. root — the cause
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a plant
  18. squash — the sport
  19. capital — a city
  20. ground — the earth
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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