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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cold — not warm
  3. key — for a lock
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. press — to push
  7. key — the most important part
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. root — of a plant
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. root — of a word
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — the earth
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. land — to come down
  22. press — newspapers
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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