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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ground — a position
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a ring
  11. chest — a box
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. nail — for a hammer

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