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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: pop · chest · cabinet · capital · wave · lie · content · cell

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — money
  18. lie — to recline
  19. capital — a city
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chest — a box
  24. lie — an untruth

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