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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: wind · swing · cabinet · kid · cold · sharp · board · rest

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kid — to tease
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rest — what's left
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. sharp — clever
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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