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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. fine — all right
  7. swing — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. swing — to play on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. present — there
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. present — a gift
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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