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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: mouse · club · last · straw · court · rock · wake · chest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. chest — a box
  12. last — to go on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. last — final
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rock — a stone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. club — a group

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