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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wake — a trail
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ground — a position
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. can — a tin
  17. snap — to click
  18. can — to be able to
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. ground — crushed
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wake — before a funeral

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