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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · stick · club · field · current · roll · cabinet · lie

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. roll — a list
  6. club — a group
  7. current — of water
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — farmland
  11. squash — the sport
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. roll — a cake
  15. current — happening now
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — a subject
  21. squash — to crush
  22. field — for sport
  23. current — electric
  24. squash — the vegetable

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