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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chest — a box
  6. pop — to visit
  7. swing — to play on
  8. band — a ring
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. chest — of your body
  12. swing — in golf
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — music
  15. race — humankind
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pop — music
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. pop — soda
  20. band — a music group
  21. perch — the fish
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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