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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. fine — high quality
  4. key — in music
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of law
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fine — all right
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. court — of a king
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. shower — rain
  16. lie — to recline
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — for golf
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — not warm

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