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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.

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: spring · wind · root · hide · key · track · ground · land

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. root — of a word
  3. key — for a lock
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. track — a song
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. track — a path
  9. key — in music
  10. spring — the season
  11. key — the most important part
  12. ground — a position
  13. wind — moving air
  14. root — the cause
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — to come down
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — the earth
  21. track — to keep track
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. hide — to keep secret

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