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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: cabinet · dip · land · field · mug · bound · fall · squash

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. land — a country
  4. field — for sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. fall — the season
  10. mug — a face
  11. land — ground
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. land — to come down
  15. mug — a cup
  16. field — farmland
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bound — certain
  19. mug — to rob
  20. fall — to drop
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — a subject
  24. dip — to sink

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