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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: tear · toast · chest · net · race · wind

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chest — a box
  3. net — for catching
  4. race — a contest
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. toast — bread
  8. race — the arms race
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — humankind

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