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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. net — after costs
  4. mug — a cup
  5. spring — of water
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mug — a face
  11. spring — a coil
  12. court — of a king
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. net — for catching
  15. key — for a lock
  16. court — of law
  17. mug — to rob
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. net — in sport
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — for sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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