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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: spring · bat · key · trunk · sharp · net · row · root

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — to paddle
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. root — of a plant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — for a lock
  15. net — in sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. key — in music
  18. net — after costs
  19. row — a line
  20. root — the cause
  21. spring — the season
  22. key — the most important part
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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