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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
468
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: bass · rash · club · spring · key · rule · straw · row

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rash — hasty
  4. club — a group
  5. key — the most important part
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. row — a line
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — the season
  10. key — in music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. club — for golf
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rule — government
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. spring — of water
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rule — a law
  23. club — for dancing
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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