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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. can — a tin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cell — in biology
  5. file — a line of people
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. can — a tin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. present — there
  13. wake — a trail
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — letters
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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