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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — in music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. can — a tin
  11. march — the month
  12. land — ground
  13. snap — to click
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. can — a tin
  19. hand — help
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — size or range
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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