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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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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: wake · straw · can · row · club · wave · game · fall

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. can — a tin
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. can — a tin
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — a line
  14. can — to be able to
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fall — the season
  20. club — a group
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. row — to paddle
  24. club — for 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