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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.

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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 · foot · mouse · content · sharp · bore · wake · arm

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bore — to tire
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hand — help
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — clever
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. hand — in cards
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. wake — a trail

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