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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: mate · spring · key · club · lean · cold · plane · shower

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. shower — to wash
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mate — a partner
  5. plane — a tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. key — the most important part
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. key — in music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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