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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. can — a tin
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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