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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. firm — a company
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. key — for a lock
  7. firm — steady
  8. squash — the sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. key — in music
  11. drill — the tool
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cell — in biology
  19. drill — army training
  20. firm — decided
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — ground
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cell — a phone

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