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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. court — of law
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. board — a committee
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. dip — to sink
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. race — a contest
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. court — for sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. snap — to click
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. race — the arms race
  22. board — to get on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — of a king

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