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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: cabinet · can · chest · cell · kid · pitch · clip · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitch — completely
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — a tin
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. kid — child
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — a video
  17. chest — a box
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — to tease

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