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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: ball · date · clip · ground · pitcher · key · root · board

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. key — in music
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — crushed
  5. date — the fruit
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. ground — a position
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. board — a committee
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. ball — a round shape

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