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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of a king
  3. chest — of your body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spell — a short time
  6. key — for a lock
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. key — in music
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. chest — a box
  12. perch — the fish
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. band — a ring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. key — the most important part
  21. band — a music group
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of law
  24. race — humankind

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