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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: cabinet · kid · stick · root · chest · tear

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. root — of a word
  5. tear — from crying
  6. root — the cause
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — a box
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. root — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body

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