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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bulb · last · root · row · mine · cabinet · wound

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. key — for a lock
  7. root — the cause
  8. key — in music
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. root — of a word
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — of a plant

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