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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 116 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: straw · shower · club · wave · wake · march

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. shower — rain
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. club — a group
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. club — for golf
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wake — a trail
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wave — of the sea

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