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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. game — wild animals
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — music
  5. mark — a grade
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — soda
  20. game — a match
  21. current — electric
  22. pop — to visit
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. current — of water

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