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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spring — of water
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. last — finally
  7. chest — a box
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — a short time
  11. last — to go on
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. key — for a lock
  15. root — of a word
  16. spell — magic
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spell — letters
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. key — in music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chip — to eat

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