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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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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: lean · deal · nail · cabinet · swing · fork · cold · clip

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — to cut
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. swing — to play on
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — for paper
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. swing — music
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — a big deal

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