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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 120 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: firm · race · fall · tear · mine · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fall — the season
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. race — humankind
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — a contest
  8. firm — steady
  9. tear — from crying
  10. firm — decided
  11. mine — for digging
  12. firm — a company
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chair — to sit on

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