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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. sharp — clever
  3. can — a tin
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. charge — electricity
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — in cards
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. charge — in control
  18. can — a tin
  19. charge — a price
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. hand — help
  24. sharp — exactly

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