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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rash — a series
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. tear — from crying
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  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