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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. squash — the sport
  5. game — a match
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — the arms race
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. race — a contest
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — wild animals
  18. race — humankind
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. chest — of your body
  22. staff — employees
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. game — a kind of play

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