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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. roll — a list
  12. fall — the season
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — a city
  17. tube — a container
  18. chest — a box
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. tube — in a tire

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