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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 · net · ground · rock · wind · calf · straw · trunk

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — a group
  6. rock — music
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — in sport
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ground — a position
  12. club — for golf
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wind — moving air
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rock — a stone
  24. straw — a straw man

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