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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: bat · cabinet · chest · spring · arm · net · firm · race

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — of water
  3. chest — a box
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. firm — steady
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. net — for catching
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — after costs
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. firm — decided
  22. race — a contest
  23. firm — a company
  24. spring — a coil

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