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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. snap — to click
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. can — a tin
  6. tube — the underground
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — to rip
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — an injury

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