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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — in sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — for catching
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. stock — goods
  10. can — a tin
  11. stock — shares
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — after costs
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — a box
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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