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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: rush · board · ruler · chest · cold · capital · fine · net

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fine — all right
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — after costs
  13. chest — a box
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. board — a committee
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. board — to get on
  18. net — in sport
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — for catching
  24. 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