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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 120 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: spring · club · fan · mouse · cap · hand · rest · land

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — of water
  9. rest — a break
  10. land — ground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — a country
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cap — a hat
  22. land — to come down
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — the season

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