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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. object — to protest
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. object — a thing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. can — to be able to
  10. band — a ring
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. drill — the tool
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a music group
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. drill — army training
  18. tear — from crying
  19. can — a tin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a rubber band
  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