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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: chest · date · snap · bound · race · squash · stick · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. date — the fruit
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bound — obliged
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bound — certain
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. squash — to crush

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