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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: clip · field · cabinet · can · deal · pop · cold · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — farmland
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. can — a tin
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. can — to be able to
  18. rash — a series
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pop — soda
  22. can — a tin
  23. field — for sport
  24. rash — hasty

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