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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: wake · stick · chair · shower · content · rest · straw · trunk

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — the amount
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — happy
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. shower — rain
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rest — a break
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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