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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: bear · clip · scale · chest · race · rest

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. 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. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — a contest
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chest — a box
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — to cut
  17. scale — size or range
  18. 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