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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — humankind
  5. pass — a permit
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — to confront
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. face — part of the head
  11. court — of law
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — a contest
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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