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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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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: cold · can · bass · pop · nail · pitcher · lean · bat

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pop — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lean — thin
  13. pop — soda
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. can — a tin
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — low music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bat — for baseball

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