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

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of law
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. race — a contest
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. court — of a king
  15. band — a music group
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a ring
  18. race — humankind

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