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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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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: kick · mine · chair · face · chest · band · race · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. race — humankind
  4. face — part of the head
  5. band — a ring
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. kick — in football
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. race — a contest
  21. band — a music group
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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