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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: stick · hand · rest · racket · roll · content · wake · rash

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hand — help
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rest — a break
  5. rash — hasty
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. content — the amount
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rash — a series
  17. hand — in cards
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. content — happy
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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