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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — in biology
  4. squash — to crush
  5. snap — to click
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. can — to be able to
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. current — of water
  12. squash — the sport
  13. current — electric
  14. can — a tin
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. current — happening now
  24. can — a tin

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