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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 116 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. key — the most important part
  3. drill — army training
  4. key — for a lock
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — not warm
  7. root — of a plant
  8. face — to point toward
  9. root — the cause
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — the tool
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — a coil
  16. face — to confront
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bank — of a river
  20. key — in music
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — to shout
  24. spring — the season

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