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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. capital — a city
  7. can — to be able to
  8. club — for golf
  9. band — a music group
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — money
  17. club — a group
  18. can — a tin
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bulb — for light
  23. band — a ring
  24. bat — in an idiom

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