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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: club · bear · march · key · sharp · content · game · rash

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. key — in music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rash — hasty
  10. key — the most important part
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. club — for dancing
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. rash — a series
  18. key — for a lock
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. club — a group
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bear — the animal

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