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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · mate · kid · staff · wind · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. mate — a partner
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — a friend
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — a group
  12. kid — to tease
  13. key — in music
  14. club — for golf
  15. key — the most important part
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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