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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. field — for sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. file — a document
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. snap — to click
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. file — a line of people
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. key — for a lock
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a tool
  21. key — in music
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. key — the most important part
  24. field — a subject

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