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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — ground
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — a country
  7. can — to be able to
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — rain
  13. last — final
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — to point toward
  16. tube — the underground
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. land — to come down
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — part of the head
  21. degree — from a university
  22. can — a tin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. last — finally

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