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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. key — in music
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — of the year
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. season — in sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. spring — of water
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. root — of a plant
  18. key — for a lock

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