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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · wind · cabinet · sharp · mate · hand

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mate — a friend
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tube — a container
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mate — a partner
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — moving air

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