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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cue — a signal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cue — a hint
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chest — a box
  18. degree — temperature
  19. squash — the sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — from a university
  22. swing — music
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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