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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — a tin
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — music
  10. net — in sport
  11. mug — a face
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. swing — in golf
  20. net — after costs
  21. can — to be able to
  22. net — for catching
  23. can — a tin
  24. scale — in music

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