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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a music group
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mug — a cup
  14. shower — rain
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mug — a face
  23. rule — a law
  24. ruler — a monarch

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