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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 · wind · straw · charge · field · pitcher · court · perch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. court — of law
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. club — for golf
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. charge — in control
  17. field — for sport
  18. club — a group
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — a subject
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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