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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — a line
  3. present — a gift
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — the time now
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. present — there
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. can — a tin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. can — to be able to

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