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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. key — for a lock
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — the cause
  6. can — a tin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fall — to drop
  12. march — the month
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — music
  15. cue — a hint
  16. root — of a word
  17. cold — not warm
  18. key — in music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cue — a signal
  21. can — a tin
  22. fall — the season
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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