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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: wake · staff · racket · club · row · cell

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — a group
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for golf
  8. staff — employees
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. staff — a stick
  13. club — for dancing
  14. row — a line
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — a trail
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cell — in a prison

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