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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: cabinet · snap · season · cell · pound · mine · chip · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. snap — to click
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — for digging
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. season — in sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. season — of the year
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pound — to hit hard

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