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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: land · key · fall · bear · shower · charge · spring · row

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. key — in music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. key — the most important part
  7. shower — rain
  8. fall — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. charge — in control
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — to come down
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. row — a line
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — to wash

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