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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. track — a path
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — a subject
  6. squash — the sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bound — obliged
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bound — tied together
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bound — certain
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. field — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rash — a series
  21. field — farmland
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. track — a song
  24. rash — on the skin

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