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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: mine · shower · swing · cabinet · squash · game · face · rock

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. face — to confront
  6. shower — to wash
  7. game — a match
  8. rock — music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. swing — in golf
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mine — for digging
  19. face — to point toward
  20. swing — music
  21. shower — rain
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. mine — an explosive

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