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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: pit · racket · club · cell · wound · key · land · court

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. club — for dancing
  6. court — of law
  7. club — for golf
  8. land — ground
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. court — of a king
  12. club — a group
  13. pit — in a race
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. land — to come down
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. key — in music
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cell — a phone
  22. land — a country
  23. cell — in biology
  24. key — for a lock

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