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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — of your body
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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