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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: march · hand · wake · object · rest · racket · game · charge

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. game — a match
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. march — music
  5. object — an aim
  6. rest — a break
  7. charge — a price
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. game — wild animals
  15. object — a thing
  16. charge — electricity
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — help
  20. wake — a trail
  21. charge — in control
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — a loud noise

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