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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 120 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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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: board · cabinet · cold · chest · capital · root · press · sharp

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. root — of a plant
  6. press — newspapers
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — the cause
  9. board — to get on
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cold — not warm
  21. root — of a word
  22. board — a committee
  23. capital — money
  24. press — to push

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