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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bear — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — the tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. bear — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. net — in sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. kid — child
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pit — a hole
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. net — after costs

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