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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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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: kick · bound · root · fall · key · land · last · perch

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — final
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bound — certain
  7. root — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. root — of a word
  10. land — a country
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — to go on
  16. key — for a lock
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — finally
  19. key — in music
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. root — the cause
  23. perch — for a bird
  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