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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — a box
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. net — for catching
  14. club — a group
  15. wind — moving air
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — child
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — after costs
  24. deal — a big deal

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