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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: stick · pound · tube · key · spring · race · rash · root

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — a contest
  6. spring — the season
  7. race — humankind
  8. root — of a word
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. key — the most important part
  13. tube — a container
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. root — of a plant
  16. spring — of water
  17. rash — a series
  18. root — the cause
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pound — a weight

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