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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: straw · band · wake · lean · pitcher · chest · rock · roll

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — music
  6. lean — to bend
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a music group
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a ring
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chest — of your body

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