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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · content · race · stick · lash · rule

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rule — government
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. race — a contest
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chest — a box
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. race — the arms race
  15. content — the amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. rule — a law
  18. chest — of your body

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