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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 · ground · content · wind · nail · wake · staff · track

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. staff — employees
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ground — crushed
  5. content — the amount
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — happy
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ground — a position
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. club — for dancing
  24. staff — a stick

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