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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: drill · root · file · ground · foot · mine · key · rule

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. key — in music
  4. ground — a position
  5. rule — a law
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. rule — government
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. root — of a word
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. foot — a measure
  14. root — the cause
  15. file — a line of people
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a tool
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — the tool
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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