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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chest — a box
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — a contest
  7. root — the cause
  8. march — music
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — child
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. board — to get on
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kid — to tease
  22. board — a committee
  23. race — humankind
  24. march — the month

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