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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — a face
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hand — help
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. root — of a word
  12. ground — a position
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. root — of a plant
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mug — to rob
  17. ground — the earth
  18. root — the cause
  19. key — in music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mug — a cup
  24. key — the most important part

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