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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: spring · face · craft · kid · mine · fan · key · bass

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. craft — boats
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bass — low music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — for digging
  13. face — part of the head
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spring — a coil
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. key — in music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — an explosive

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