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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: tear · trunk · race · chair · squash · band

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. band — a music group
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a ring
  9. squash — the sport
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. squash — to crush
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a professorship

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