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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — crushed
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — to confront
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. ground — the earth
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — after costs
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — in sport
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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