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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bank — of a river
  6. land — a country
  7. race — humankind
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. race — a contest
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — to come down
  20. bank — for money
  21. race — the arms race
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — tied together
  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