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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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. net — after costs
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — of law
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — help
  15. snap — to click
  16. can — a tin
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. object — an aim
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — to protest
  24. hand — in cards

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