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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: club · stick · row · straw · toast · bat · wake · ground

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ground — a position
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. ground — the earth
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — the animal
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — bread
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — a group
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — crushed
  23. club — for golf
  24. row — a quarrel

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