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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mate — a friend
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. can — to be able to
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. can — a tin
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cold — the Cold War

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