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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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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: mate · suit · race · rush · land · bat · rash · chest

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. land — ground
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. suit — in cards
  12. rash — a series
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — the animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chest — a box
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — humankind
  24. suit — to fit

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