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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · fork · cell · swing · race · current · root · mate

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. current — happening now
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mate — a partner
  8. swing — music
  9. race — humankind
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. root — of a word
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cell — a phone
  15. current — of water
  16. root — of a plant
  17. key — in music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. root — the cause
  20. current — electric
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cell — in a prison

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