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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bat — the animal
  17. can — a tin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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