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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — a box
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. board — a committee
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — child
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pit — a hole
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. board — to get on
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. board — a flat piece

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