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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: pound · roll · key · cell · club · spring · bore · dip

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pound — a weight
  4. roll — a cake
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. dip — to sink
  8. key — in music
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. key — for a lock
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spring — the season
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. roll — a list
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bore — to tire
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bore — to drill

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