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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: race · object · chest · fine · bat · tear

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. 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. bat — the animal
  3. object — an aim
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — a thing
  8. race — humankind
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fine — all right
  12. race — the arms race
  13. object — to protest
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — a box
  16. race — a contest
  17. tear — from crying
  18. 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