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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 didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — a country
  7. can — to be able to
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. saw — the tool
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cap — a hat
  20. can — a tin
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cold — an illness

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