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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · club · court · scale · pound · sharp · key · mine

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. club — for dancing
  7. court — of a king
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. club — for golf
  12. key — in music
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pound — a weight
  18. key — for a lock
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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