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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: toast · wake · fall · court · drill · pitcher · root · straw

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fall — the season
  4. court — of a king
  5. wake — a trail
  6. root — of a plant
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. root — the cause
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of law
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. court — for sport
  18. root — of a word
  19. toast — bread
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. straw — a straw man

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