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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. content — happy
  3. root — the cause
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — of a word
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chest — a box
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — in music
  21. squash — the sport
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bank — for money

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