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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 120 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: firm · race · fall · tear · mine · chair · mate · can

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. can — a tin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — a contest
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. firm — a company
  13. fall — the season
  14. firm — decided
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. firm — steady
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — to breed

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