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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. can — a tin
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. can — a tin
  24. coach — a trainer

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