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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: cabinet · chest · roll · fine · hand · rest · row · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. row — a line
  8. roll — a list
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. roll — a cake
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rest — a break
  20. hand — help
  21. game — a match
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fine — all right

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