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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: rock · key · fall · spring · shower · cap · land · bound

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rock — a stone
  3. land — ground
  4. key — in music
  5. bound — certain
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spring — of water
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. key — the most important part
  12. shower — rain
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spring — the season
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. rock — music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — a coil
  24. key — for a lock

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