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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: wound · staff · rest · race · land · key · club · court

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. court — for sport
  3. rest — a break
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. staff — employees
  7. club — a group
  8. court — of a king
  9. key — the most important part
  10. land — a country
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — to come down
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — in music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. land — ground
  22. court — of law
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rest — what's left

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