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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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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: toast · bear · key · pitch · season · root · kid · rash

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rash — a series
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. rash — hasty
  9. root — of a word
  10. key — in music
  11. toast — bread
  12. season — in sport
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitch — completely
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. root — the cause
  24. season — of the year

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