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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: field · cabinet · drill · swing · club · cold · cell · cue

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — music
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. club — for golf
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cue — a hint
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. club — for dancing
  12. field — farmland
  13. cue — a signal
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — a phone
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — the tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — for sport
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. drill — army training

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