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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: clip · game · stand · key · spring · fan · shower · staff

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — rain
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. key — the most important part
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. staff — employees
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — of water
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stand — to bear
  18. game — a match
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spring — a coil
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — the season
  24. staff — a stick

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