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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — certain
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — a lid
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bound — tied together
  9. drill — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. prune — to trim
  12. drill — army training
  13. race — humankind
  14. bound — obliged
  15. race — the arms race
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — of ice
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hand — help
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a trace

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