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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stand — to bear
  3. squash — the sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chip — for betting
  10. current — of water
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. can — a tin
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. current — electric
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. current — happening now

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