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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
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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: row · chair · rush · lie · clip · cabinet · rest · capital

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rest — a break
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a line
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — for paper
  17. capital — money
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — a video
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — to recline
  24. clip — to cut

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