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

Word bank: cabinet · wind · kick · chest · fine · board

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a committee
  4. kick — in football
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chest — a box
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — to get on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cabinet — ministers

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