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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · race · season · toast · prune · hand · key · spring

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — a contest
  6. key — in music
  7. race — humankind
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. root — of a word
  12. season — of the year
  13. spring — of water
  14. root — the cause
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. race — the arms race
  21. prune — to trim
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. prune — to trim

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