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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · ball · squash · cabinet · chair · field · hand · straw

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. ball — a dance
  3. field — a subject
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. squash — the sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — a leader
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. present — a gift
  18. field — for sport
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. hand — help
  22. squash — to crush
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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