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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. race — humankind
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. board — a committee
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — there
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. race — a contest
  14. board — to get on
  15. rock — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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