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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — letters
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a great time
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tube — the underground
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — money
  15. firm — decided
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — to eat
  21. spell — magic
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. firm — a company
  24. firm — steady

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