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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — humankind
  4. can — to be able to
  5. saw — the tool
  6. present — a gift
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. can — a tin
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bat — the animal
  12. present — the time now
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. race — a contest
  18. wound — an injury
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  24. present — there

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