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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stock — goods
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — a box
  8. race — humankind
  9. firm — a company
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. firm — steady
  12. board — a committee
  13. race — the arms race
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stock — shares
  18. bat — the animal
  19. board — to get on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. firm — decided
  22. race — a contest
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — to rip

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