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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: kid · pop · file · swing · spring · deal · lie · cabinet

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. spring — of water
  3. pop — music
  4. file — a document
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lie — to recline
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. swing — to play on
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kid — child
  24. pop — soda

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