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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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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 · drill · bowl · band · racket · file · root · tear

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. tear — to rip
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. root — of a plant
  6. drill — army training
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. root — the cause
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. key — in music
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. key — the most important part

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