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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. last — finally
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. scale — in music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. content — happy
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. scale — size or range
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stand — to bear
  22. content — the amount
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. safe — out of danger

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