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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: deal · mine · chest · mate · race · court · last · jam

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. deal — to handle
  4. last — to go on
  5. court — of a king
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — humankind
  16. last — final
  17. court — of law
  18. last — finally
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. chest — a box
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. race — a contest
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mate — a partner

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