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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.

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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. staff — a stick
  3. root — the cause
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. root — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fine — high quality
  13. staff — employees
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. toast — bread
  18. fine — all right
  19. root — of a word
  20. cold — an illness
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spring — the season

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