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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 120 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: chair · capital · sharp · rush · rock · cabinet · cell · kid

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. capital — money
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kid — child
  6. rush — hurry
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. rock — music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cell — in biology
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rock — a stone
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cell — a phone
  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