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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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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: firm · wind · pit · club · scale · mine · key · court

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. firm — steady
  3. court — for sport
  4. firm — a company
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pit — in a race
  7. scale — in music
  8. court — of a king
  9. pit — a hole
  10. club — for golf
  11. firm — decided
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. club — a group
  20. court — of law
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. club — for dancing

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