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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — of water
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. fall — the season
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. spring — a coil
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — music
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. craft — boats
  24. land — a country

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