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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.

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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: fork · key · club · cue · tube · row · degree · spring

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. key — the most important part
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — a hint
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cue — for pool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. club — for golf
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fork — in a road
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. club — a group
  23. key — in music
  24. row — to paddle

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