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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mark — a trace
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. present — a gift
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. present — the time now
  15. can — a tin
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rule — a law
  19. present — there
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. rule — government
  24. racket — a loud noise

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