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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. ground — a position
  4. foot — a measure
  5. net — in sport
  6. can — to be able to
  7. present — a gift
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. net — after costs
  18. ground — the earth
  19. present — there
  20. ground — crushed
  21. present — the time now
  22. kid — child
  23. can — a tin
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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