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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: court · mark · spring · charge · wake · hand · key · cap

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — help
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — in cards
  15. charge — a price
  16. key — in music
  17. court — of law
  18. spring — the season
  19. court — of a king
  20. charge — in control
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. charge — electricity
  24. cap — a hat

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