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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 · racket · spell · chair · bay · mouse · chest · straw

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spell — letters
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spell — a short time
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. chest — a box
  23. club — a group
  24. racket — a loud noise

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