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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: key · straw · bank · march · chest · tube · root · date

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bank — of a river
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bank — for money
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tube — the underground
  19. key — in music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — music
  23. tube — a container
  24. chest — a box

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