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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: root · tear · march · scale · cold · vault · staff · hide

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — size or range
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. scale — in music
  13. root — the cause
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  24. tear — from crying

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