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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — for digging
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. march — music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — to be able to
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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