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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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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: saw · hand · capital · swing · firm · trunk · chest · wake

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. firm — steady
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. swing — music
  9. firm — decided
  10. capital — a city
  11. firm — a company
  12. swing — in golf
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. capital — money
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wake — a trail
  18. swing — to play on
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. chest — a box
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wake — before a funeral

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