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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — certain
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bound — tied together
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — to go on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — finally
  21. can — a tin
  22. roll — a list
  23. last — final
  24. kick — in football

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