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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rash — hasty
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. can — a tin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rash — a series
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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