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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · hand · court · pitcher · staff · key · vault · wind

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. court — for sport
  13. hand — help
  14. staff — employees
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — in cards
  17. staff — employees
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. ground — the earth
  23. key — in music
  24. staff — a stick

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