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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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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: row · staff · chest · rush · hand · capital · tube · dip

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tube — a container
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — money
  12. rush — hurry
  13. capital — a city
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — a stick
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — the underground
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. staff — employees
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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