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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: arm · cabinet · content · chest · capital · field · deal · present

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. chest — a box
  3. present — a gift
  4. capital — money
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. present — the time now
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. present — there
  10. content — happy
  11. deal — to handle
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. field — for sport
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — the amount
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. capital — a city
  22. field — a subject
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. 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