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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. saw — the tool
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bound — tied together
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. can — a tin
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. race — humankind
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bound — obliged
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bound — certain
  15. pitch — completely
  16. saw — the tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. race — the arms race
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — a contest
  24. bat — for baseball

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