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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: court · object · game · rash · key · bass · last · bat

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. court — for sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. last — to go on
  10. object — to protest
  11. rash — hasty
  12. court — of a king
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. key — for a lock
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — the animal
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. bass — low music
  22. court — of law
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. key — in music

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