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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · row · fall · drill · wake · content · sharp · bowl

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. game — a match
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — a trail
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — the season
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. row — a line
  13. content — happy
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. drill — army training
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. content — the amount

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