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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 · roll · plane · jam · key · court · tear · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. key — the most important part
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for dancing
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. tear — to rip
  8. club — a group
  9. roll — a list
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. roll — a cake
  13. court — of law
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. key — in music
  16. court — for sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. key — for a lock
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. court — of a king

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