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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: club · spring · game · pit · key · rock · chest · safe

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — the season
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — in a race
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. game — a match
  10. spring — a coil
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. key — for a lock
  18. rock — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. chest — of your body
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. key — in music
  24. chest — a box

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