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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. can — to be able to
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bank — for money
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rule — government
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bank — of a river
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. can — a tin
  20. bank — for money
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — to turn a key

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