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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. ground — the earth
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — help
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. content — the amount
  14. ground — a position
  15. game — a match
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — wild animals
  18. can — to be able to
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rest — a break
  21. hand — in cards
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bay — a horse colour

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