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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: mine · chest · tear · board · mate · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. board — to get on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chest — a box
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — for digging
  17. race — a contest
  18. board — a committee

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