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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — a line
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rush — hurry
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — a trail

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