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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: arm · pass · patient · fall · last · court · straw · club

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. court — for sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. club — for dancing
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. last — final
  7. court — of a king
  8. fall — to drop
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — for golf
  13. last — finally
  14. court — of law
  15. pass — a permit
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. last — to go on
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. club — a group
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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