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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. can — a tin
  4. cap — a hat
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. can — a tin
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — in football
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cap — of ice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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