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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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468
Word bank
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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rash — a series
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. last — final
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cap — a lid
  22. can — a tin
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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