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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. drill — army training
  4. cell — a phone
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. scale — size or range
  8. drill — a practice
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. drill — the tool
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. scale — in music
  20. net — for catching
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. can — a tin
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. net — in sport

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