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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: chest · board · cell · chair · date · bear · race · capital

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — a committee
  7. capital — money
  8. race — humankind
  9. capital — a city
  10. board — to get on
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — a box
  18. cell — a phone
  19. race — a contest
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bear — the animal
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — to sit on

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