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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — money
  6. kid — to tease
  7. can — a tin
  8. file — a tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — a video
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — child
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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