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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.

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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: shower · mine · key · sharp · arm · hide · pound · root

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. root — of a word
  8. key — in music
  9. root — the cause
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. root — of a plant
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. shower — rain
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mine — for digging
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pound — a weight
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. key — the most important part

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