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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 120 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: bay · ground · chest · cap · tear · race

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — a box
  4. race — a contest
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a hat
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  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