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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: club · wake · rest · fork · track · land · lean · pitcher

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. track — a song
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. land — ground
  10. lean — thin
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. club — for golf
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. track — a path
  20. rest — a break
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — a garden tool

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