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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tube — the underground
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — wild animals
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rock — a stone
  22. can — a tin
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — a match

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