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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — ground
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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