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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. can — a tin
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — a tin
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — a division
  18. present — the time now
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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