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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — a tin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kid — child
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bank — for money
  7. mark — a grade
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — happy
  16. can — a tin
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bank — of a river
  20. mark — a trace
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — for money

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