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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — army training
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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