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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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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: rest · capital · cabinet · patient · court · bound · tear · chest

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of law
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bound — tied together
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bound — obliged
  16. court — for sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — certain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. capital — a city

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