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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 jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. board — a committee
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a document
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — to play on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. swing — in golf

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