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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. tube — a container
  3. club — for dancing
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — of a word
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. club — for golf
  14. key — in music
  15. root — the cause
  16. stand — to bear
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. club — a group
  19. tube — the underground
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. mine — for digging
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — not warm

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