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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — a trail
  11. march — the month
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cell — in biology
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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