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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: race · cap · land · arm · chest · clip · object · stand

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. object — to protest
  4. land — ground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. clip — a video
  9. object — a thing
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. land — a country
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cap — of ice
  14. race — a contest
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. object — an aim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. race — humankind
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chest — a box
  24. cap — a hat

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