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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 120 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: last · race · snap · straw · plane · key · chest · pit

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pit — in a race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — a contest
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pit — a hole
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. plane — a tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — the most important part
  23. snap — to click
  24. chest — a box

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