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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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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: net · capital · stem · lean · chest · pit · mine · pass

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chest — a box
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pass — a permit
  12. capital — a city
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. net — for catching
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. net — in sport
  24. lean — thin

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