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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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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: court · bay · track · race · perch · wound · straw · cap

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a lid
  8. court — for sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. wound — an injury
  12. race — humankind
  13. track — a song
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — of law
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. track — a path
  22. race — the arms race
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — a contest

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