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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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Word bank
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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: pound · rash · chest · fine · race · rock

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — all right
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. rock — a stone
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — a contest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chest — a box
  16. rash — hasty
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — for dogs

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