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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: cap · chest · staff · hand · wind · cabinet · bay · craft

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chest — a box
  10. staff — employees
  11. craft — a skill
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — help
  19. chest — of your body
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. craft — boats
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cabinet — ministers

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