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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: hand · fork · land · bass · fan · spell · key · pit

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bass — low music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. pit — a hole
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. key — for a lock
  14. hand — help
  15. key — in music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bass — the fish
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spell — magic
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — to eat with

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