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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — the underground
  9. scale — in music
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tube — a container
  15. scale — size or range
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — a contest
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — a subject
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cell — in a prison

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