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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: key · rash · wind · wound · club · vault · bear · root

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rash — a series
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. key — in music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — the animal
  17. root — of a word
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. club — a group
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bear — the animal
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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