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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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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: net · pop · rest · last · can · land · kid · tear

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rest — a break
  3. kid — child
  4. net — after costs
  5. can — a tin
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — for catching
  8. can — to be able to
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pop — soda
  11. can — a tin
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — in sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. last — final
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — finally
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — what's left

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