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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. staff — employees
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — a group
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — of water
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. staff — employees
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. face — to confront
  20. bat — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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