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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — a box
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — a series
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rash — hasty

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