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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bank — for money
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bank — of a river
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — a box
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bank — for money
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — for digging

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