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

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. row — a line
  3. race — humankind
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. race — a contest
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. row — to paddle
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — a box
  24. race — the arms race

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