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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. club — a group
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. chip — to eat
  10. field — for sport
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for golf
  17. field — farmland
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. field — a subject
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. tube — the underground

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