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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — help
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rest — what's left
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. dip — to sink
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chest — a box
  15. can — a tin
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — of your body

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