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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — money
  12. can — a tin
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a hat
  16. land — ground
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — a lid
  24. can — a tin

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