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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cap — a lid
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. present — the time now
  11. swing — music
  12. present — there
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — a hat
  17. present — a gift
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. court — of law
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cap — of ice

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