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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 116 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: land · chip · fan · perch · row · rush · spring · key

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. land — ground
  3. key — for a lock
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chip — to eat
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rush — hurry
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spring — of water
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — a coil
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. row — a line
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. spring — the season
  22. key — in music
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chip — for betting

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