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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. race — humankind
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — a subject
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — farmland
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — for sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chest — a box
  17. bound — tied together
  18. vault — a safe
  19. race — a contest
  20. bound — certain
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bear — to put up with

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