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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 116 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: board · court · straw · fine · clip · club · snap · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. club — for dancing
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. club — for golf
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — a group
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. board — to get on
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. clip — a video
  24. board — a committee

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