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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: swing · trunk · key · mine · root · club · tear · land

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. land — to come down
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — ground
  10. swing — music
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. club — for dancing
  13. root — the cause
  14. club — for golf
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — a group
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. key — in music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tear — from crying

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