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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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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: squash · trunk · kid · patient · band · fall · cabinet · object

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. object — a thing
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. object — an aim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. object — to protest
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kid — child
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. band — a ring
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. band — a music group
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fall — the season
  24. squash — the sport

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