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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: court · swing · mark · drill · kid · key · rush · sharp

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mark — a grade
  8. sharp — clever
  9. drill — army training
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. swing — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. key — in music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — a trace
  18. court — for sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kid — child
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rush — a thrill

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