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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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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: stem · hand · racket · content · club · fall · key · rest

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. club — for dancing
  3. key — in music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. club — for golf
  7. content — the amount
  8. key — for a lock
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — a group
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — in cards
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rest — what's left
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fall — the season

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