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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mine — for digging
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. key — in music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. land — a country
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bass — low music
  24. nail — for a hammer

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