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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. key — for a lock
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pop — soda
  10. root — of a plant
  11. key — the most important part
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pop — to visit
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. key — in music
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pop — music
  22. root — the cause
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spring — a coil

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