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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. key — the most important part
  3. club — for golf
  4. stand — to bear
  5. club — a group
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — for sport
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. court — of a king
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. scale — 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