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

Word bank: last · root · capital · stand · key · race · snap · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. snap — to click
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. key — the most important part
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — money
  9. key — in music
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stand — to bear
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — final
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — a contest
  17. last — finally
  18. root — of a plant
  19. race — the arms race
  20. root — the cause
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. capital — a city
  23. root — of a word
  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