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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: club · rest · deal · court · straw · content · cue · hand

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. court — of a king
  3. club — for golf
  4. cue — a signal
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — the amount
  8. hand — in cards
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cue — for pool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. court — for sport
  13. club — a group
  14. content — happy
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. court — of law
  19. cue — a hint
  20. hand — help
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. straw — a straw man

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