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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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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: deal · root · cue · key · fine · chest · mine · stem

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cue — a signal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — for pool
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cue — a hint
  13. chest — a box
  14. fine — high quality
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. key — for a lock
  20. root — the cause
  21. deal — to handle
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fine — all right

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