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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: pit · bat · fan · chest · present · ruler · race · arm

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — the animal
  12. race — a contest
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. present — a gift
  19. race — humankind
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — the arms race
  24. present — there

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