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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bass — low music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mug — a cup
  7. chest — a box
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — humankind
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mug — a face

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