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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: capital · cabinet · present · chest · rest · club

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — there
  6. rest — a break
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. chest — a box
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. present — a gift
  13. capital — money
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a city
  18. 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