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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cell — in biology
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — employees
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. bass — low music
  16. field — for sport
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. pop — music

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