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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — a box
  3. race — a contest
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chest — of your body
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. wind — moving air
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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