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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — to wash
  4. object — to protest
  5. land — to come down
  6. can — to be able to
  7. net — in sport
  8. object — an aim
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — for catching
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. object — a thing
  14. pop — soda
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. land — ground
  18. pop — music
  19. can — a tin
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. net — after costs
  23. shower — rain
  24. stem — to come from

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