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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — in golf
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. march — music
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. face — part of the head
  18. chest — a box
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  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