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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. net — after costs
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. can — a tin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — hasty
  11. net — for catching
  12. stock — shares
  13. spring — of water
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — a coil
  16. can — to be able to
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. spring — the season
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rash — a series
  23. stock — goods
  24. net — in sport

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