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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — a box
  11. rule — a law
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. land — ground
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — government
  19. content — happy
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. land — a country
  22. capital — money
  23. land — to come down
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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