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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. can — a tin
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a match
  16. pop — music
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. can — a tin
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. march — music
  24. rock — a stone

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