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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: pitch · jam · tear · spring · club · fan · key · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spring — a coil
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. club — for golf
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spring — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — a group
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pitch — completely
  16. club — for dancing
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — of water

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