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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rock — music
  6. stand — to bear
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — a cake
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. can — a tin
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. net — after costs
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. can — a tin
  19. roll — a list
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — of water
  22. net — in sport
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bat — in an idiom

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