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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fine — high quality
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fine — all right
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — the earth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bat — in an idiom

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