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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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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: cabinet · hand · tube · pop · sharp · swing · rush · file

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — music
  5. hand — help
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tube — a container
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rush — hurry
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. file — a tool
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pop — to visit
  24. swing — to play 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