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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: kid · stem · wax · race · chest · pit

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pit — in a race
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — humankind
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. race — a contest
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chest — a box
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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