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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: key · calf · club · mine · land · pop · spring · face

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. key — in music
  8. club — for golf
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. face — part of the head
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — the most important part
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. face — to confront
  17. spring — the season
  18. club — a group
  19. pop — to visit
  20. face — to point toward
  21. key — for a lock
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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