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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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 word
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. roll — a list
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — in music
  7. root — the cause
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — in a road
  12. last — to go on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. roll — a cake
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — finally
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — final
  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