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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 · game · kid · mate · chest · clip · fan · cue

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. clip — a video
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mate — to breed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a match
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — for pool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — a box
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cue — a signal

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