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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: row · content · club · stick · wake · chest · field · wave

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. row — a line
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — a group
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. content — happy
  17. club — for golf
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. field — for sport
  20. content — the amount
  21. club — for dancing
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wave — with your hand

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