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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: staff · jam · pit · lash · race · chest · last · spring

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. last — to go on
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. staff — a stick
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — final
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. chest — a box
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — employees
  17. chest — of your body
  18. staff — employees
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — a contest
  21. last — finally
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. race — humankind

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