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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 120 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: chest · cold · fork · foot · pitcher · race · fan · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — humankind
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — not warm
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chest — a box

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