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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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Word bank
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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: lean · leaves · root · key · fork · degree · cold · bulb

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lean — thin
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. degree — temperature
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. root — the cause
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — in music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — from a university
  24. root — of a plant

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