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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. can — a tin
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rock — a stone
  7. can — a tin
  8. season — of the year
  9. rock — music
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chip — to eat
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. season — in sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. degree — an amount
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chip — for betting

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