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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. can — a tin
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cell — in biology
  6. tube — the underground
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cell — a phone
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tube — a container
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. squash — to crush
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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