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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 all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pop — soda
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pop — music
  11. deal — to handle
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — the tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chest — a box
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spring — of water
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — the season

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