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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: mate · tear · race · branch · land · toast · racket · chest

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. chest — a box
  4. mate — to breed
  5. race — a contest
  6. land — ground
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — a division
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — a partner
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chest — of your body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. toast — bread
  22. mate — a friend
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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