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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: kid · chair · spring · suit · temple · key · jam · root

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. spring — the season
  3. chair — a leader
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. spring — a coil
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kid — child
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — of water
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. suit — clothes
  16. key — in music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. root — of a plant
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. suit — to fit
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. root — of a word

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