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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ball — a dance
  4. shower — to wash
  5. land — ground
  6. fork — in a road
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. suit — clothes
  10. can — to be able to
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. suit — in cards
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. root — the cause
  19. cold — an illness
  20. land — to come down
  21. shower — rain
  22. root — of a plant
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. root — of a word

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