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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bound — certain
  3. present — there
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a line of people
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a document
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. file — a tool
  24. kid — child

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