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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rash — a series
  4. can — to be able to
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rash — hasty
  12. row — a line
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. can — a tin
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. foot — the bottom

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