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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spring — of water
  3. pass — a permit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. last — final
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. staff — employees
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — for digging
  20. race — the arms race
  21. staff — a stick
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — an explosive
  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