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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: fan · key · hand · net · cold · tube · row · spell

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. net — for catching
  3. key — for a lock
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a line
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — in sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spell — magic
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hand — part of the body

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