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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 · tear · foot · race · bulb · fall

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — a contest
  4. foot — a measure
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. fall — to drop
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fall — the season
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — from crying

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