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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. field — for sport
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. game — a match
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. squash — to crush
  18. field — farmland
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. game — wild animals
  22. tube — a container
  23. rush — hurry
  24. field — a subject

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