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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. can — a tin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. can — to be able to
  9. craft — boats
  10. toast — bread
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. can — a tin
  14. perch — the fish
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. squash — to crush
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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