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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. file — a tool
  5. can — a tin
  6. club — a group
  7. bass — the fish
  8. club — for golf
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bass — low music
  21. rule — government
  22. spring — of water
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — a coil

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