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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mark — a grade
  7. track — a song
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tube — the underground
  10. track — a path
  11. race — a contest
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. track — to keep track
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — a city
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — wild animals

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