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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · rock · root · fall · mine · clip · track

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mine — for digging
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rock — a stone
  7. root — the cause
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fall — the season
  12. clip — to cut
  13. key — in music
  14. root — of a word
  15. fall — to drop
  16. track — a song
  17. rock — music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. root — of a plant
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — an explosive

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