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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: chip · capital · rock · chest · lie · branch · lean · rest

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — music
  5. chip — to eat
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lie — to recline
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rock — a stone
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. branch — a division
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. lean — thin

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