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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. row — a line
  5. season — of the year
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitch — completely
  10. face — to confront
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. can — to be able to
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. face — part of the head
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — to point toward
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. prune — to trim
  22. season — in sport
  23. can — a tin
  24. season — to add flavour

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