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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: kid · cap · can · firm · patient · last · chair · chest

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. firm — steady
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — child
  9. firm — decided
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chest — a box
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cap — a hat
  15. can — a tin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. last — final
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. can — a tin
  23. firm — a company
  24. chest — of your body

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