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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bass — low music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — in music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rest — a break
  16. race — the arms race
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pit — a hole
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. race — humankind
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rest — what's left

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