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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 124 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 help me carry this box?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. game — wild animals
  3. can — a tin
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spring — a coil
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. can — a tin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lean — thin
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — of water
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. court — of law

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