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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 · root · pitcher · chest · board · track · hide · rash

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. root — of a plant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chest — a box
  7. root — of a word
  8. spring — the season
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — a series
  17. root — the cause
  18. board — to get on
  19. spring — a coil
  20. track — a path
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. track — a song
  24. hide — to keep secret

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