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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. shower — to wash
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. scale — in music
  7. can — a tin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rest — a break
  12. can — a tin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — a position
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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