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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — wild animals
  4. can — a tin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pop — to visit
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. capital — money
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pop — soda
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. pop — music
  23. capital — a city
  24. game — a kind of play

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