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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · swing · fork · wind · content · wake

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. 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. wind — to turn a key
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. swing — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — a trail
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. 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