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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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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: chest · race · cell · mine · club · rush · date · plane

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. club — for golf
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. club — for dancing
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. club — a group
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. plane — a tool
  24. chest — of your body

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