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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. club — a group
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. sharp — clever
  12. club — for golf
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tube — a container
  17. content — happy
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. chip — to eat
  21. content — the amount
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — with an edge

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