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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: dip · spring · game · squash · net · key · last · band

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a music group
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. key — for a lock
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spring — the season
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. dip — to sink
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. spring — of water
  18. key — in music
  19. net — in sport
  20. key — the most important part
  21. net — after costs
  22. game — a match
  23. squash — to crush
  24. net — for catching

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