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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: cold · swing · fine · kid · fall · cabinet · dip · field

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fine — all right
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fall — the season
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. field — for sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kid — child
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. swing — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. swing — to play on

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