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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 · track · race · tear · present · coach

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — a gift
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. track — a song
  7. race — humankind
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. tear — from crying
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. race — a contest

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