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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: game · file · bound · swing · fall · cap · cabinet · kick

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. file — a tool
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — music
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — to play on
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bound — certain
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fall — the season
  15. kick — in football
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — wild animals
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. cap — a lid
  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