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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 · court · key · fall · trunk · chest · craft · swing

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. key — in music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. craft — a skill
  5. court — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. key — for a lock
  8. court — of law
  9. key — the most important part
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. club — for golf
  12. fall — the season
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chest — a box
  15. club — a group
  16. swing — music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of a king
  24. craft — a handicraft

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