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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: jam · snap · capital · court · chest · arm · lean · net

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — for catching
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — for sport
  6. capital — money
  7. net — in sport
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. lean — thin
  11. net — after costs
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — a box
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — of a king
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. lean — to bend
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. snap — to click
  22. chest — of your body
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. lean — to rest against

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