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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: club · court · bank · cue · pitcher · tear · board · kick

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. court — of law
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bank — for money
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. board — a committee
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. tear — to rip
  13. board — to get on
  14. bank — of a river
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of a king
  23. bank — for money
  24. kick — in football

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