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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. board — to get on
  5. mark — a trace
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — a box
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. board — a committee
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. race — the arms race
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. race — humankind

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