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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: march · tear · cue · race · chest · season

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. march — music
  11. season — of the year
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. march — the month
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — the month
  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