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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bass — low music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. can — a tin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — in cards
  13. saw — the tool
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. saw — the tool
  18. hand — help
  19. spring — the season
  20. kick — in football
  21. can — a tin
  22. spring — of water
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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