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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. drill — the tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. root — of a plant
  5. race — the arms race
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rash — a series
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. hand — help
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — the most important part
  19. root — of a word
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — rain
  22. root — the cause
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — to wash

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