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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tube — a container
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. content — the amount
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. sharp — clever
  15. last — finally
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — final
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rest — a break
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. arm — part of the body

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