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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. foot — a measure
  7. kick — in football
  8. race — a contest
  9. last — final
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mate — to breed
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. clip — a video
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mate — a partner

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