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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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Word bank
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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. key — the most important part
  3. kid — child
  4. root — the cause
  5. pit — in a race
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stem — to come from
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — in music
  20. pit — a hole
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bass — low music

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