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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 120 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: club · wax · fork · march · key · spring · cue · row

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — to grow
  5. club — for golf
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fork — in a road
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. spring — of water
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cue — for pool
  23. club — a group
  24. wax — for sculpting

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