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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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Word bank
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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: wave · sharp · last · ground · wake · tube · face · racket

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. face — to point toward
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — a position
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — final
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — clever
  16. face — to confront
  17. last — finally
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — to go on
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. face — part of the head

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