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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. file — a tool
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bound — certain
  24. cabinet — ministers

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