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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. snap — to click
  3. can — to be able to
  4. fine — high quality
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — in sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. sharp — clever
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. scale — size or range
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. can — a tin
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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