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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.

Make a worksheet

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: game · chest · race · file · racket · mug · cold · key

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — of your body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — to rob
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mug — a face
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chest — of your body
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. file — a document
  18. game — a match
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chest — a box
  21. file — a line of people
  22. key — for a lock
  23. mug — a cup
  24. race — a contest

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