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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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Word bank
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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: date · stick · chest · snap · wind · race

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. race — humankind
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — a contest
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. snap — to click
  9. wind — moving air
  10. date — the fruit
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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