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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: tear · shower · track · perch · court · key · straw · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. court — of law
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. key — for a lock
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — for golf
  9. track — a song
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — rain
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — the fish
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — for dancing
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. track — a path

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