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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — a group
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pop — soda
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pop — to visit
  22. row — a line
  23. pop — music
  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