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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: key · bass · roll · spring · shower · jam · clip · stem

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. spring — of water
  4. key — in music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — rain
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. spring — the season
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the fish
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. spring — a coil
  18. clip — to cut
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. clip — a video
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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