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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 116 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: swing · kid · cabinet · fall · current · clip · present · bay

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. kid — child
  8. swing — in golf
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — to play on
  12. current — electric
  13. swing — music
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. current — of water
  17. present — there
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. present — the time now
  21. fall — the season
  22. current — happening now
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. clip — for paper

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