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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: pit · kid · bank · race · rest · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rest — a break
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bank — for money
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. rest — what's left

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