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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. can — a tin
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. race — a contest
  18. can — a tin
  19. chest — a box
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. can — to be able to

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