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

Word bank: wind · snap · root · mine · court · key · mark · track

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mark — a grade
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mark — a trace
  6. key — for a lock
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. track — to keep track
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. track — a path
  13. key — the most important part
  14. track — a song
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. root — of a word
  21. snap — to click
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. root — the cause

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