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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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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. track — a song
  3. bat — the animal
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tube — a container
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — the underground
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — army training
  20. swing — to play on
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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