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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: land · pit · hand · foot · wind · dip · wake · content

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wake — a trail
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. hand — help
  9. content — happy
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. content — the amount
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. land — a country
  20. foot — a measure
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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