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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fork — in a road
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — to come down
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. land — a country
  10. content — the amount
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. land — ground
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. clip — for paper

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