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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. root — of a word
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — help
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — for catching
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — in sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. net — after costs
  21. content — happy
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitcher — a jug

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