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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — a stick
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tear — from crying
  6. staff — employees
  7. rush — hurry
  8. march — music
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — the month
  11. race — the arms race
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tear — to rip
  15. race — a contest
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. march — the month
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. race — humankind
  23. key — for a lock
  24. root — of a word

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