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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. key — for a lock
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. march — the month
  5. club — for golf
  6. fork — in a road
  7. club — a group
  8. pop — music
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. march — the month
  11. club — for dancing
  12. court — of a king
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. march — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. court — of law
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fork — a garden tool

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