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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: pop · spring · key · row · pit · date · wind · fall

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — in music
  7. row — to paddle
  8. spring — a coil
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — of water
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. key — the most important part
  20. pop — soda
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pop — to visit
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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