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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. spell — letters
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. field — for sport
  24. can — a tin

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