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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: bound · chest · lean · pit · band · race · swing · hide

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pit — in a race
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pit — a hole
  8. band — a music group
  9. swing — music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — thin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bound — obliged

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