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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — the fruit
  3. key — for a lock
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. last — final
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — humankind
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. race — a contest
  16. key — in music
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — finally
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. key — the most important part
  24. race — the arms race

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