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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. can — a tin
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mate — to breed
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — happy
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. content — the amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wind — moving air

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