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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rash — hasty
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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