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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — money
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — shares
  8. can — a tin
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — part of the head
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to confront
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ground — crushed
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stock — goods
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. face — to point toward
  24. hand — part of the body

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