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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kick — in football
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — temperature
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bore — to drill
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. can — to be able to
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. band — a ring

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