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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: spring · cue · chest · stick · race · band · foot · root

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. spring — of water
  3. band — a ring
  4. cue — a signal
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. race — the arms race
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — a coil
  11. band — a music group
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — for pool
  15. race — a contest
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. cue — a hint
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — humankind
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. root — the cause

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