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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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468
Word bank
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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. present — a gift
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. present — there
  6. club — a group
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — the time now
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. club — for golf
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — child
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mug — to rob

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