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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fine — all right
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a line of people
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — low music
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spring — the season
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. can — a tin
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spring — of water
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. can — to be able to
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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