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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: chip · march · race · chest · tear · calf · cap · jam

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  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. march — music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — to rip
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. march — the month
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cap — a hat
  22. chest — a box
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  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