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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.

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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. can — a tin
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. spell — magic
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. sharp — clever
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a ring

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