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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · mug · trunk · stand · cap · snap · game · can

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. can — to be able to
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mug — a face
  8. cap — of ice
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. can — a tin
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. field — a subject
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cap — a hat
  24. snap — to click

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