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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. key — in music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a document
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — the cause
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. key — the most important part
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ground — a position
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. root — of a word
  18. pound — a weight
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a line of people
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. key — for a lock

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