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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cap — of ice
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. can — a tin
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — to tease
  11. land — ground
  12. can — to be able to
  13. last — finally
  14. shower — to wash
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — final
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — child
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wound — an injury
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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