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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 120 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 · kick · pass · court · row · perch · last · straw

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. last — final
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — for dancing
  9. row — to paddle
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. court — of law
  12. kick — in football
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. court — for sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of a king
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. club — for golf
  20. last — finally
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — a group
  24. row — a line

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