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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: ground · spring · key · drill · date · squash · spell · face

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — of water
  4. face — part of the head
  5. date — the fruit
  6. key — in music
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spell — a short time
  12. drill — army training
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — to crush
  16. spell — letters
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ground — the earth
  24. key — the most important part

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