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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — a tin
  3. present — a gift
  4. shower — rain
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — of water
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — there
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. can — to be able to
  14. present — the time now
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. spring — the season
  21. kid — child
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. plane — a tool
  24. shower — to wash

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