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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. land — to come down
  3. rest — a break
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. land — a country
  7. date — the fruit
  8. band — a ring
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. land — ground
  11. foot — a measure
  12. file — a line of people
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. band — a music group
  15. deal — to handle
  16. file — a tool
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a document
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rest — what's left
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. date — on the calendar

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