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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. squash — the sport
  9. net — in sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cold — not warm
  18. club — a group
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. squash — the vegetable

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