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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: bark · chest · key · temple · court · game · can · sharp

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. can — a tin
  5. key — in music
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — a match
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. can — to be able to
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — of a king
  19. chest — a box
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. court — of law
  23. key — for a lock
  24. can — a tin

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