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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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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. march — music
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rash — a series
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wake — a trail
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. staff — employees
  19. scale — in music
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — a stick
  22. march — the month
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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