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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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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: swing · trunk · fan · net · cabinet · pop · row · chest

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. row — a line
  7. swing — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. net — for catching
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. net — in sport
  22. chest — a box
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — music

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