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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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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: root · ground · scale · last · spring · patient · race · bat

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. last — finally
  4. ground — the earth
  5. root — of a word
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spring — of water
  13. root — of a plant
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. root — the cause
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — humankind
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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