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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fall — to drop
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — the arms race
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — to play on
  15. land — a country
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — the season

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