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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 piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a hat
  5. land — ground
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — an illness
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. root — of a word
  11. land — a country
  12. bank — for money
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — of a plant
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cold — not warm
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — the cause
  24. clip — to cut

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