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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: chest · march · cue · fall · race · present

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. race — humankind
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — a contest
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cue — a signal
  9. march — the month
  10. present — there
  11. march — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cue — for pool
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — the season
  18. cue — a hint

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