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

Word bank: cap · cold · firm · rest · cell · chest

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cap — a hat
  3. firm — a company
  4. cap — a lid
  5. firm — decided
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — of ice
  10. firm — steady
  11. chest — a box
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cold — not warm

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