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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. file — a tool
  5. swing — music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kick — in football
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. squash — to crush
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. toast — bread
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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