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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. key — for a lock
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. key — in music
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — to shout
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. key — the most important part
  12. saw — the tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of law
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — 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