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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: wake · straw · game · stock · pitcher · lean · racket · club

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. lean — thin
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stock — goods
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stock — shares
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lean — to bend
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — for golf
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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