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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: ground · mate · club · snap · saw · root · date · cabinet

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mate — a partner
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. root — of a word
  8. club — for dancing
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mate — to breed
  16. root — of a plant
  17. ground — crushed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mate — a friend
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. root — the cause
  23. date — the fruit
  24. ground — a position

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