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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chair — a leader
  4. scale — in music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rest — what's left
  9. firm — decided
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. firm — steady
  13. scale — size or range
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rest — a break
  17. game — a match
  18. can — a tin
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — an illness
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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