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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. root — of a word
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lean — to bend
  15. root — the cause
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. key — in music
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — not warm
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. lean — thin
  24. kid — child

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