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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. track — a path
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a song
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. key — in music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

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