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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: can · club · nail · spring · land · wound · kid · firm

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. firm — a company
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — a coil
  8. club — for dancing
  9. can — to be able to
  10. land — to come down
  11. wound — an injury
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. spring — of water
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. firm — decided
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. firm — steady
  19. land — ground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — a group
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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