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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 · foot · roll · board · date · land · rock · wound

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. board — a committee
  3. land — to come down
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. key — for a lock
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rock — music
  9. date — the fruit
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. key — in music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. wound — an injury
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. roll — a list
  24. rock — to move gently

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