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

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — a coil
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rest — what's left
  6. club — a group
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — of water
  10. key — in music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rest — a break
  14. current — electric
  15. spring — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. root — of a word
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — for dancing
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — a position
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — not warm
  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