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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. saw — the tool
  6. race — a contest
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pop — to visit
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. key — the most important part
  15. race — the arms race
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bank — for money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. key — in music
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — humankind
  24. row — a line

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