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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rest — a break
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. content — the amount
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rule — a law
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rule — government
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — happy
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pitch — completely

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