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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mug — a face
  3. can — to be able to
  4. land — to come down
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bore — to tire
  15. hand — help
  16. mug — to rob
  17. can — a tin
  18. bore — to drill
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bark — to shout
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bark — of a tree

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