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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: track · race · firm · chest · calf · net · date · fall

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. net — for catching
  4. firm — decided
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a path
  8. race — humankind
  9. chest — a box
  10. fall — the season
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. fall — to drop
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. firm — steady
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. firm — a company
  18. fall — to drop
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. track — a song
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. date — the fruit
  24. race — a contest

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