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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: club · cap · mine · cabinet · pop · cold · craft · object

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. object — an aim
  11. club — a group
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pop — soda
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. club — for golf
  24. cap — of ice

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