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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · capital · cabinet · scale · stem · mug · bat · wound

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bat — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mug — a cup
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stem — to come from
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mug — a face
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — in music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — in an idiom

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