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

Word bank: key · degree · court · last · club · bowl · trunk · bay

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. court — for sport
  3. last — finally
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. court — of a king
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. club — for golf
  15. last — to go on
  16. club — a group
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. court — of law
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bowl — a dish

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