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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — to play on
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hand — help
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. net — for catching
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — an illness
  20. land — to come down
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. plane — a tool
  24. net — after costs

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