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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chest — a box
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. date — the fruit
  14. branch — a division
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. squash — to crush
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. dip — to sink
  22. key — in music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. squash — the vegetable

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