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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 · trunk · cap · race · fall · field · rash · current

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. current — electric
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — farmland
  11. race — humankind
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rash — a series
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. trunk — of a tree

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