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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. object — an aim
  3. swing — music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — in sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. can — to be able to
  11. spring — of water
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. net — after costs
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. band — a ring
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. net — for catching
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cold — not warm

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