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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — for paper
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. staff — a stick
  15. can — to be able to
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. staff — employees

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