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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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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: ground · racket · kick · band · wake · squash · straw · stick

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — the earth
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wake — a trail
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — to crush
  16. band — a ring
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. ground — crushed
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kick — in football
  24. ground — a position

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