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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — magic
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — letters
  8. key — in music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mate — to breed
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — a friend
  18. can — to be able to
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. can — a tin
  23. chip — for betting
  24. sharp — with an edge

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