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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rash — hasty
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to click
  11. fall — to drop
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. can — to be able to
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. rash — a series
  22. chair — a leader
  23. sharp — clever
  24. can — a tin

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