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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. kid — child
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — in music
  6. file — a document
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rush — hurry
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fall — the season

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