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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · content · row · wake · rest · dip · bulb · drill

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. row — a line
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rest — what's left
  8. dip — to sink
  9. drill — army training
  10. bulb — for light
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. drill — a practice
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. wake — a trail
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rest — a break
  24. row — to paddle

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