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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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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: ball · ground · lean · trunk · straw · wake · squash · track

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lean — thin
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ground — crushed
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ground — a position
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. track — a song
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — a trail
  21. squash — to crush
  22. track — a path
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. trunk — of a car

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