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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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 — ground
  3. rock — music
  4. can — a tin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — steady
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — in sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — to rip
  15. firm — a company
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. can — a tin
  18. firm — decided
  19. season — of the year
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. degree — from a university

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