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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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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: cabinet · bat · cold · chip · chest · staff · rest · lie

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chest — a box
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. lie — an untruth

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