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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: bat · snap · cabinet · mouse · tube · cold · dip · stand

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stand — to bear
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. dip — to sink
  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