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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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. fall — the season
  4. chip — to eat
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kick — in football
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — in golf
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. field — a subject
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chip — for betting

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