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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — of law
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. chest — a box
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. snap — to click
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. race — the arms race
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. court — of a king

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