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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: tear · rest · chair · chest · arm · object

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — a thing
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chest — a box
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rest — what's left
  15. tear — to rip
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chair — a leader
  18. object — to protest

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