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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. field — a subject
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — a trace
  8. present — there
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. branch — a division
  11. present — a gift
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. field — for sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — a contest
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — a box

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