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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. squash — the sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — a video
  7. deal — to handle
  8. clip — for paper
  9. swing — music
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — the underground
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. swing — in golf
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. file — a line of people

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