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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. can — to be able to
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — final
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. perch — the fish
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. last — finally
  20. board — a committee
  21. can — a tin
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. branch — a division
  24. board — to get on

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