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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: face · key · bowl · club · hide · chest · net · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — in music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. chest — a box
  10. net — for catching
  11. club — for golf
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. face — to confront
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. key — for a lock
  24. court — of a king

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