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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. rash — a series
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. key — for a lock
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rash — hasty
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rule — a law
  19. key — in music
  20. root — the cause
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. key — the most important part
  24. rule — to rule out

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