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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. race — a contest
  5. spell — a short time
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spell — letters
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chest — a box
  12. cold — not warm
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. race — humankind
  21. chest — of your body
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ground — crushed

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