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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. rest — a break
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. game — a match
  7. firm — steady
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — army training
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. hand — help
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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