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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bore — to tire
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — a box
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cabinet — ministers

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