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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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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 · mug · leaves · staff · tear · scale · rest · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — size or range
  4. staff — a stick
  5. tear — from crying
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — to rob
  9. staff — employees
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. scale — in music
  15. chest — a box
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. staff — employees
  21. mug — a cup
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tear — to rip

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