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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. can — a tin
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. wound — an injury
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ground — the earth
  24. lie — to recline

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