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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — a tin
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ground — crushed
  9. craft — boats
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bass — the fish
  13. craft — a skill
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — an illness
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — help
  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