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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. can — a tin
  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