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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. chest — of your body
  6. field — farmland
  7. pitch — completely
  8. race — a contest
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. field — a subject
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — for sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. race — humankind
  21. chest — a box
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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