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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: cell · present · staff · row · root · key · bat · ground

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. staff — employees
  6. bat — the animal
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. root — the cause
  10. present — a gift
  11. staff — a stick
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a word
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. present — there
  21. cell — in biology
  22. present — the time now
  23. staff — employees
  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