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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. spell — letters
  4. can — a tin
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. spell — a short time
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spell — magic
  17. row — to paddle
  18. degree — from a university
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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