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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: club · swing · bear · straw · racket · pitcher · wave · rest

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. rest — a break
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. club — for golf
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. club — a group
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. swing — to play on
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bear — the animal
  19. swing — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. swing — in golf

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