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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: mate · key · kid · ground · hand · cue · perch · club

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cue — a hint
  4. mate — a friend
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. club — for dancing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mate — to breed
  10. key — in music
  11. club — a group
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. club — for golf
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cue — for pool
  17. ground — a position
  18. cue — a signal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. key — the most important part
  24. hand — help

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