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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chest — of your body
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — a short time
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — a contest
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. chest — a box
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. spell — letters
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — the arms race

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