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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. season — in sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kick — in football
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pop — soda
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pop — music
  24. hand — part of the body

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