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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: field · pit · kid · wake · key · staff · shower · spring

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — to wash
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kid — child
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — to tease
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. field — a subject
  18. pit — a hole
  19. field — for sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. key — the most important part
  24. shower — rain

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