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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — a trail
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. land — a country
  16. object — a thing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. object — to protest
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pop — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. last — finally

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