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

Word bank: cap · cell · club · chest · can · cabinet · band · pop

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. can — a tin
  3. club — a group
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. band — a ring
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. can — a tin
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — to visit
  18. can — to be able to
  19. club — for golf
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a music group

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