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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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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: pit · bat · bound · wind · firm · cabinet · cap · race

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. firm — decided
  2. cap — of ice
  3. firm — steady
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. race — a contest
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bound — certain
  22. race — humankind
  23. firm — a company
  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