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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: spring · last · wind · fine · key · firm · pitcher · track

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. firm — decided
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. key — in music
  8. track — a song
  9. last — to go on
  10. track — a path
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — finally
  20. key — the most important part
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wind — moving air
  23. key — for a lock
  24. last — final

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