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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lean — thin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. capital — money
  5. can — a tin
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cap — a hat
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. can — a tin
  24. cap — a lid

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