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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: club · wave · mine · staff · season · key · spring · shower

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — for golf
  4. spring — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. key — the most important part
  10. season — of the year
  11. club — a group
  12. key — in music
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. shower — rain
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — employees
  21. key — for a lock
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. season — in sport

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