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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. swing — in golf
  7. present — a gift
  8. spell — a short time
  9. snap — to click
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. swing — to play on
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. present — there
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. present — the time now
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. prune — the fruit

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