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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. court — for sport
  3. suit — in cards
  4. court — of a king
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. suit — to fit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for golf
  10. cell — a phone
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for dancing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. club — a group

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