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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pass — a permit
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lean — thin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. racket — for tennis

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