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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. game — a match
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. object — an aim
  9. land — a country
  10. object — a thing
  11. track — a song
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. track — a path
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — wild animals
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — ground
  24. wake — a trail

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