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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. band — a music group
  5. race — a contest
  6. snap — to click
  7. chair — a leader
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a ring
  11. last — to go on
  12. object — to protest
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — final
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. object — an aim
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chest — a box
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — finally
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. object — a thing

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