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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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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: drill · club · lash · wake · roll · cap · straw · chair

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. drill — army training
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — of ice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wake — a trail
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. roll — a list
  24. club — a group

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