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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 120 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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — finally
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bore — to tire
  9. last — final
  10. race — a contest
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — to go on
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fall — the season
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rash — a series
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bore — gave birth

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