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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: key · kid · game · root · leaves · row · date · band

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. game — a match
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. root — the cause
  9. kid — to tease
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. root — of a plant
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — the fruit
  19. band — a music group
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. band — a ring
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. row — a line

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