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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — to come down
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bound — tied together
  7. craft — boats
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — to be able to
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kick — in football
  14. mate — a friend
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mate — a partner
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — ground
  24. fall — the season

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