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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pop — music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — soda
  14. can — a tin
  15. bat — the animal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tube — a container
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — moving air
  23. can — a tin
  24. craft — boats

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