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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cell — a phone
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. can — a tin

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