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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: spring · key · rash · land · stick · chair · net · wind

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — a series
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. key — the most important part
  11. spring — a coil
  12. net — after costs
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — for a lock
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. net — in sport
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. key — in music
  24. land — ground

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