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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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Word bank
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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: ground · date · tear · stand · race · chest

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stand — to bear
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. ground — the earth
  12. race — a contest
  13. date — the fruit
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — a position
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  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