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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bear — the animal
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. can — to be able to
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. land — to come down
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. land — ground
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. can — a tin

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