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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 116 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: wake · snap · game · pitcher · straw · ground · rule · stem

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rule — a law
  23. snap — to click
  24. rule — government

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