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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rock — music
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. mine — for digging
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chair — a leader
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mate — a partner
  16. can — a tin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. plane — a tool

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