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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bank — of a river
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bank — for money
  9. key — in music
  10. spring — the season
  11. bank — for money
  12. key — for a lock
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — in sport
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spring — of water
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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