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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cap — a lid
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — rain
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. game — a match
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. scale — size or range
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — in music
  19. game — wild animals
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. cap — of ice
  24. track — to keep track

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