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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bound — certain
  9. key — in music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. press — newspapers
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bound — tied together
  19. root — of a word
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. key — for a lock
  22. press — to push
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cold — an illness

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