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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: bay · cap · tear · chest · last · land · cold · cabinet

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. last — to go on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — a country
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. land — to come down
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — finally
  20. land — ground
  21. last — final
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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