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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. can — a tin
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — the season
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spring — of water
  11. can — a tin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. fall — the season
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fall — to drop
  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