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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. content — happy
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — the amount
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — help
  24. wake — a trail

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