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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. can — to be able to
  3. spring — the season
  4. can — a tin
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cue — a signal
  7. shower — rain
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the fish
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fall — the season
  22. bass — low music
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a hint

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