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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: deal · key · chest · game · sharp · wake · root · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. root — of a word
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chest — of your body
  7. root — of a plant
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a match
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — a box
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. deal — to handle
  24. sharp — with an edge

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