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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bear — the animal
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. land — a country
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bass — low music
  15. field — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — ground

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