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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: toast · bark · cell · race · firm · chest

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — humankind
  6. toast — bread
  7. firm — decided
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — a box
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. firm — a company
  14. race — a contest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — of a tree

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