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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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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: spring · patient · root · bat · drill · chair · swing · key

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. drill — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. root — of a word
  12. drill — army training
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. drill — a practice
  16. key — in music
  17. root — of a plant
  18. swing — music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. swing — in golf
  21. root — the cause
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — for baseball

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