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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lean — thin
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. can — a tin
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kid — child
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kid — to tease
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. can — to be able to
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — temperature

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