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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 116 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: key · root · saw · cold · deal · pound · club · spring

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. key — in music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. root — the cause
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. club — a group
  19. key — the most important part
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. deal — an agreement

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