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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: chest · spring · row · cabinet · nail · mate · rash · game

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spring — of water
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — a box
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. game — wild animals

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