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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. band — a ring
  5. craft — boats
  6. can — a tin
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. tube — the underground
  9. land — a country
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tube — a container
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — for digging
  14. craft — a skill
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. can — a tin
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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