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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 · row · court · cell · straw · bark · firm · rule

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. row — to paddle
  6. firm — a company
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — a phone
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — of law
  12. club — a group
  13. rule — a law
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. firm — steady
  17. cell — in biology
  18. firm — decided
  19. row — a line
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rule — government
  24. club — for dancing

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