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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: mug · pop · straw · pass · hand · kick · race · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mug — a face
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pop — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. kick — in football
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — to rob
  14. hand — help
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pop — soda
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. hand — in cards
  24. straw — a straw man

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