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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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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: temple · club · key · file · court · bat · tear · wound

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. court — of law
  3. club — for dancing
  4. court — for sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. file — a line of people
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — to rip
  16. file — a tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of a king
  23. bat — the animal
  24. key — the most important part

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