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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: cell · cabinet · kid · pound · squash · cold · swing · stick

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. swing — music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — child
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pound — a weight
  16. swing — in golf
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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