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

Word bank: club · race · key · rule · fall · court

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. key — for a lock
  6. court — for sport
  7. fall — the season
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — a law
  10. club — a group
  11. race — humankind
  12. fall — to drop
  13. key — the most important part
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — of a king
  16. club — for dancing
  17. court — of law
  18. key — in music

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