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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. content — happy
  5. rest — a break
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. stand — to bear
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chair — a leader
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. rest — what's left
  18. content — the amount
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — army training

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