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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. mine — for digging
  5. can — to be able to
  6. rest — what's left
  7. scale — in music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wind — moving air

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