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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. key — the most important part
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. tube — a container
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. key — in music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. land — ground
  20. tube — the underground
  21. land — a country
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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