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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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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: wind · wake · wound · stem · drill · rest · stick · court

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — of a king
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rest — what's left
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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