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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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Word bank
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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: band · chest · race · chip · bear · plane · mate · rush

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chip — for betting
  4. band — a ring
  5. mate — to breed
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bear — the animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. band — a music group
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rush — hurry
  14. race — a contest
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chest — a box
  19. chip — to eat
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bear — the animal
  24. plane — a tool

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