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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rush — hurry
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cold — not warm
  14. suit — to fit
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bass — low music
  17. suit — in cards
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. can — a tin
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. suit — clothes

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