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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. race — humankind
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. race — a contest
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. chest — a box
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. firm — steady
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. safe — a strongbox

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