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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.

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: cabinet · board · bass · roll · kick · clip · game · chest

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chest — a box
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. kick — in football
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. board — a committee
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bass — low music
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bass — the fish
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. board — to get on
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. 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