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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cue — for pool
  4. face — to confront
  5. cold — an illness
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — for catching
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cue — a hint
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. net — after costs

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