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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lean — thin
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fall — to drop
  10. key — for a lock
  11. suit — clothes
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. key — in music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fall — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. suit — in cards
  22. can — a tin
  23. drill — a practice
  24. key — the most important part

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