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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: cabinet · pop · kid · wind · racket · hand · rash · stem

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pop — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rash — a series
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. hand — help
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cabinet — ministers

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