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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 · race · lean · arm · tube · content · wake · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tube — the underground
  4. lean — thin
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — a container
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. race — the arms race
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — happy
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — the amount
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — humankind
  24. bear — to put up with

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