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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: chest · chip · stand · last · tear · bear

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — to rip
  3. last — final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. last — to go on
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — to bear
  13. last — finally
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box

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