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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spell — magic
  3. track — a path
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. can — to be able to
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. key — in music
  9. spell — a short time
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. track — to keep track
  13. band — a ring
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — to shout
  16. key — the most important part
  17. can — a tin
  18. key — for a lock
  19. spell — letters
  20. track — a song
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. land — ground
  24. band — a music group

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