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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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Word bank
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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 · court · rock · fan · prune · straw · can · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. file — a tool
  3. rock — music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. club — for golf
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. can — a tin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. can — a tin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a document
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. rock — a stone
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. court — of law

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