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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bass — the fish
  3. press — to push
  4. chest — a box
  5. kid — child
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. race — humankind
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. club — a group
  11. press — newspapers
  12. race — the arms race
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kick — in football
  18. race — a contest
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pit — in a race
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chest — of your body

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