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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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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. kid — to tease
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — a contest
  9. cell — a phone
  10. race — humankind
  11. key — in music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — the most important part
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. hand — help
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. kid — child
  24. bowl — a football final

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