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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 120 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 · spell · shower · key · court · game · mug · kick

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. key — the most important part
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. club — for golf
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spell — magic
  12. club — for dancing
  13. key — for a lock
  14. club — a group
  15. game — a match
  16. mug — to rob
  17. court — for sport
  18. key — in music
  19. mug — a cup
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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