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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · court · land · fall · spring · bay · root · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. scale — size or range
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — to come down
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. court — of law
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — of water
  12. scale — in music
  13. spring — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — a country
  17. court — of a king
  18. key — the most important part
  19. court — for sport
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. root — of a word
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. key — in music
  24. fall — the season

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