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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: lean · fan · fall · key · game · prune · spring · drill

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — wild animals
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — thin
  12. fall — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — the season
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fall — to drop
  20. prune — to trim
  21. key — in music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — of water

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