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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: chair · bark · suit · cap · rest · chest · fine · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. suit — clothes
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rest — a break
  5. suit — to fit
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — the season
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chest — a box
  22. suit — in cards
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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