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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: wake · firm · wind · rule · cap · march · leaves · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rule — a law
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. firm — decided
  5. chest — of your body
  6. firm — a company
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. firm — steady
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wind — moving air
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — government
  23. march — music
  24. rule — to rule out

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