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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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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. key — in music
  7. board — a committee
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — a weight
  10. board — to get on
  11. spring — of water
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — the season
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fall — the season
  18. key — the most important part
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rush — hurry
  21. key — for a lock
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rush — a thrill

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