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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. object — an aim
  6. game — a match
  7. object — to protest
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. object — a thing
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. kid — child
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — to tease
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. race — a contest

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