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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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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 · squash · race · wake · toast · land · key · stick

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. land — ground
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — a contest
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. toast — bread
  8. spring — of water
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. race — the arms race
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — for a lock
  15. squash — to crush
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — a coil
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. race — humankind
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. key — in music
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. land — to come down
  24. wake — a trail

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