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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 · drill · key · pitcher · club · pound · pop · date

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. club — for golf
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pop — to visit
  9. court — of law
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pop — soda
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of a king
  15. key — for a lock
  16. court — for sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. club — for dancing
  19. drill — the tool
  20. key — in music
  21. club — a group
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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