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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · cold · cabinet · rush · ground · key · bass · spring

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — the season
  8. bass — the fish
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — for golf
  12. key — in music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bass — low music
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spring — of water
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — a position
  24. club — for dancing

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