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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: straw · court · ground · mark · key · cap · ball · drill

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of law
  3. ball — a great time
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ground — the earth
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. key — for a lock
  10. drill — a practice
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. drill — army training
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cap — a hat
  16. court — of a king
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — in music
  20. ground — a position
  21. cap — of ice
  22. court — for sport
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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