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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. key — the most important part
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. key — for a lock
  8. scale — in music
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — of a king
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. court — of law
  15. club — a group
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wound — an injury
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. key — in music
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. court — for sport

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