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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. last — final
  4. chest — a box
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. race — humankind
  12. toast — bread
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — finally
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — to confront
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. last — to go on
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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