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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — to play on
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — humankind
  7. chest — a box
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. swing — in golf
  10. land — a country
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. race — a contest
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — ground
  18. tube — a container
  19. race — the arms race
  20. swing — music
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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