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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — the fish
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cold — an illness
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. net — in sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — for catching
  11. bass — low music
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — to point toward
  14. band — a music group
  15. net — after costs
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. band — a ring
  19. kick — in football
  20. vault — a safe
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — not warm
  24. face — part of the head

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