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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. can — a tin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fall — the season
  12. march — the month
  13. can — a tin
  14. squash — the sport
  15. suit — clothes
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. suit — in cards
  20. squash — to crush
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — rain

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