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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. pop — to visit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. current — happening now
  8. pop — soda
  9. current — of water
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pop — music
  14. rule — government
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wound — an injury
  20. current — electric
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. date — the fruit

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