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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — all right
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fine — high quality
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cabinet — ministers

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