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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — a trail
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — to go on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — finally
  24. ruler — for measuring

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