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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spring · shower · stand · saw · chair · squash · kid

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. chair — a leader
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. spring — the season
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stand — to bear
  11. shower — rain
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — of water
  24. key — in music

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