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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. club — for golf
  3. hand — in cards
  4. club — a group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — in sport
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — of the year
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — in music
  13. rash — a series
  14. club — for dancing
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. band — a music group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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