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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: rest · chest · race · wound · court · mine · deal · nail

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. race — the arms race
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — to handle
  6. court — of a king
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. race — humankind
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. court — of law
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — a box
  20. court — for sport
  21. rest — a break
  22. race — a contest
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rest — what's left

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