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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. roll — a list
  8. track — a song
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. swing — music
  11. roll — a cake
  12. field — a subject
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. field — farmland
  16. track — a path
  17. band — a ring
  18. kick — in football
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. swing — to play on
  22. band — a music group
  23. swing — in golf
  24. field — for sport

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